Five dots tattoo

Illustration of five dots tattoo.

The five dots tattoo is a tattoo of five dots arranged in a quincunx, usually on the outer surface of the hand, between the thumb and the index finger.

The tattoo has different meanings in different cultures —it has been variously interpreted as a fertility symbol, ^[1] a reminder of sayings on how to treat women or police, ^[2] a way members of People Nation or Nuestra Familia affiliated gangs identify themselves (People gangs use the number five, while Folk Nation gangs use six), a recognition symbol among the Romani people, ^[2] a group of close friends, ^[3] standing alone in the world, ^[4] or time spent in prison (with the outer four dots representing the prison walls and the inner dot representing the prisoner). ^[5]

Thomas Edison had this pattern tattooed on his forearm. ^[6]

Unicode Character

U+2059⁙FIVE DOT PUNCTUATION

See also

• Criminal tattoo
• Prison tattooing

References

1. Gilbert, Steve (2000), Tattoo history: a source book : an anthology of historical records of tattooing throughout the world, Juno Books, p.  153, ISBN   978-1-890451-06-6 .
2. Turner, Robert (2005), Kishkindha, Osiris Press Ltd, p. 53, ISBN   978-1-905315-05-5 .
3. Daye, Douglas D. (1997), A law enforcement sourcebook of Asian crime and cultures: tactics and mindsets, CRC Press, p. 113, ISBN   978-0-8493-8116-4 .
4. Vigil, James Diego (2002), A rainbow of gangs: street cultures in the mega-city, University of Texas Press, p. 115, ISBN   978-0-292-78749-0 .
5. Baldayev, Danzig (2006), Russian criminal tattoo encyclopedia, Volume 3, FUEL Publishing, p. 214.
6. Sherwood, Dane; Wood, Sandy; Kovalchik, Kara (2006), The Pocket Idiot's Guide to Not So Useless Facts, Penguin, p. 48, ISBN   978-1-59257-567-1 .